Samuel Gipp’s “Gospel of John”

Looking at Samuel Gipp’s Denominational Errors in “The Gospel of John”: (Samuel Gipp is apparently born again, spirit filled, insightful, a believer of the word of God, and, at times, very edifying – but when it comes to the denominational prejudices he bought into by being “Baptist” (whether through denominational loyalty or seminary education), he is frequently also pathetically wrong.

Sam Gipp preaches:

(1) that God is “omnipresent” through an assassination of John 1:18 using “in the bosom of the Father” as a temporal statement and not a figure of speech. (page 22)

(2) that the Lord neither drank not made wine, and characterizes anybody who teaches otherwise as “limp wristed preachers,” “doubly blinded by ignorance and prejudice,” and “blind leaders bent on damning their blind followers” (p. 41).

(3) that Paul teaches

(A) “the rapture” in the new testament;

(B) that it is an “error” to teach that the resurrection of the dead and the “catching away of the living believers” happens at the same occasion. (p. 206)

1st Corinthians 15:51-52 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

(4) that the ten commandments are OK when generally referenced (p. 288), but they’re not OK when the context gets specific (The fourth commandment is a horror to Gipp.) in which case we’re only to keep nine commandments, or not keep them at all – as per instructions of Peter Ruckman, whose book on the subject Sam specifically endorses.

Gipp INVENTS his own ten commandments trying to get rid of the doctrine and power of John 14:15. (p. 357)

a.) What we’re supposed to get from this is that:

i.) there are obviously “these commandments that we’re supposed to keep,” but since we don’t keep the ten commandments (that the Lord wrote himself, which, if you believe Dr. Gipp, are NOT meant to be kept)!

ii.) “the commandments” given by the Lord and written with his own finger, are not to be considered “my commandments” in John 14 (and similar verses in the new testament).

b.) His statement, that there are “these commandments that we’re supposed to keep,” followed with an arbitrary frivolous listing of ten of his own choosing, labeled by him as “commandments;” is a lie, based upon lies, with the intention of perpetrating a lie!

c.) While it is true that the Lord issued commands in the new testament as well as the old, it is not true that he did so ten times (rather it would be more like a hundred times). (Sam Gipp used a Satanic flim flam on us.) Of interest concerning Gipp’s listing of “ten” things Jesus commanded, is what he did NOT include in his list:

Matthew 19:17 “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” [On this occasion, he did not say, “my commandments”, but it’s the same thing because “the commandments” ARE his “commandments”.]

Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Mark 11:22 “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.”

Luke 12:15 “And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

Mark 10:42-44 “But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.”

Mark 10:14 “But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”

Mark 6:50 “For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.”

Mark 4:9 “And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:24 “And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.”

Mark 6:10 “And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.”

Mark 8:34 “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Mark 9:35 “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”

Mark 12:38 “And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces. . . .”

Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

Luke 3:11 “He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”

Luke 3:13 “And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.”

Luke 3:14 “And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.” (This follows closely: “Thou shalt not kill.”, “Thou shalt not bear false witness. . . .”, and “Thou shalt not covet. . . .”)

[Here, the astute observer will notice that this particular commandment doesn’t really sound like a general “commandment” at all, but is, in fact, a specific commandment to the Samaritan leper.]

Matthew 14:29 “And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.”

[What if I invented a commandment based on this: “Come all ye, and walk on the water!”?]

[Am I spiritual?]

Mark 11:2 “And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.”

Matthew 26:45 “Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

Luke 22:10 “And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.”

[Suppose I changed this verse to read as a general “commandment” in MY list of “ten commandments: “Always follow a man who carries a pitcher of water.” and then I make it a point to always carry a pitcher of water around on my shoulder. Is this sound doctrine on my part, or on yours, if you believe me? This is robbery!]

[What would you think of me, if for the purpose of dolling this verse up to make it seem more like a general “commandment” to prove my argument more effectively, I intentionally misquoted the verse? This is exactly what Sam Gipp does with his: #2. “Pray for labourers” (See: Matthew 9:38); #3. “Forbid him not.” (See: Mark 9:39); #5 “Judge not” (See: Luke 6:37)] etc.

Λ #4 “Be merciful” (See: Luke 6:36) is a nice thought, but it misquotes the verse and leaves out what went before it: “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again. . . .” which are also two more commands the Lord made, and part of what Gipp’s “Be merciful” is contingent upon which is itself only part of the greater thought, as is obvious in the unadulterated verse: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” (v. 36)

(5) that you can use your own personal sense of imagination and private interpretation while utterly ignoring true biblical doctrine, as a basis for justifying your version of Baptist orthodoxy. (See: page 291-292)

(6) that “other sheep” in John 10:16 is not a reference to the Gentiles, but to Jews of other cities besides Jerusalem, because he can not consider that the church is anything but the centerpiece of God’s intentions, or that “Gentiles” would be grafted into one body with Israel as though Israel is the main thing. (Isn’t it funny how modern “Gentile Christians” find it impossible to believe that the Lord would count them as “one body” with the Jews, exactly as the Jews found it impossible to believe their God would include the Gentiles with them?) Take a brief tour of just Matthew:

Matthew 10:5 “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. . . .”

12:14-18 “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.” [from Isaiah 42:1]

v. 21 “And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”

15:21-28 “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

28:16-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. . . .”

Acts 10:45 “And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

11:1-3 “And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.”

(13:42 “ “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.”)

13:46-47 “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”

1st Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

Ephesians 2:13-22 (16) “And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. . . .”

Romans 11:20 “Be not highminded. . . .”

(7) that there are “definitive” statements on the “eternal security of the believer,” or, “once saved always saved” in the word of God (p. 294 – 296) even though his proof texts say no such thing at all, and his use of them is permeated with denominational bias and forced artificial conclusions.

He sets us up to receive “once saved always saved” in John 3:36 (p. 102):

emphasizing the “hath” in “hath everlasting life” so that we don’t notice it is “believeth” not “ever believed,” or “once believed,” or “used to believe.”

He makes the statement, “The extraordinary thing about this verse is that it is in the present tense.” [It is somewhat “extraordinary” because eternal life is typically spoken of as a thing received in the future, having remained in Christ unto death.]

Mark 10:30 “But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

1st Timothy 6:19 “Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (future tense)

Titus 1:2 “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. . . .”

(This is future tense and Paul who is “saved” is presently in “hope” of it.)

3:7 “That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

1st John 2:25 “And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”

1st John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”

[Here, “eternal life” provides great meaning to what the Lord has already said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. . . .” To have Jesus Jesus Christ as Lord is to have eternal life, just as to believe on Jesus Christ is to believe in eternal life. But if you don’t have him and don’t believe on him, then you don’t have eternal life, and will never have it . . . unless you change your mind.]

He ignores the importance of the “believeth not” issue, just like he ignored the “believeth” issue by disconnecting it from the changeableness hinging upon the present/future state of the one doing (or not doing) the believing rather of the eternalness of the life that is given once that life IS given. The Baptists who say this aren’t even dead yet, and they have not collected on the eternal gift of life yet.

[He argues against himself unwittingly here admitting that the wrath of God “abides on anyone who refuses to put their [sic] trust in Jesus Christ . . . right now . . . in this life. . . .”; not realizing that although the one who does not presently believe, who does have wrath on him “right now,” CAN come to the Lord and have that wrath taken away. Depending upon whether or not the person changes his mind before his death, his fate is not fixed by the Lord, which is just the point.

Λ He sees no problem with scripture that DOES “definitively” speak against his godless “eternal security” doctrine:

In John 15:2 (page 367) he doesn’t even mention the difficulty of his position with this plain scripture, he just goes on to give his belief of what the statement implies, which flatly contradicts what it states.

John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

The vine analogy:

John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Romans 11:16-22 “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”

2nd Peter 2:20-22 “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.”

v. 17 “And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee. . . .”

v. 26 “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Now imagine that you are Lot, taken back in time: you and your wife are leaving Sodom. The angel has already told you not to look back when you leave. As you leave your housekeeper tells you in all earnestness that the pastor at the church where she fellowships said, “Don’t worry about looking back, because “You couldn’t look back even if you wanted to!”

QUESTION: Who do you believe? The Sodomite housekeeper’s pastor or the angel?

QUESTION: What if your housekeeper gives her pastor a call on her cell phone and he rushes over to explain some of the finer points of the doctrine, and in trying to reconcile his beliefs with what the angel said points out that if you only casually turn your head around, facing back toward Sodom with your eyes open, this is not the same thing as “looking back”? Would it help if he reasoned with you that, “Since it was the angel’s purpose to deliver you from Sodom, he obviously had to deliver you alive or there wouldn’t be any point to the delivery, so in order to fulfill his promise, not only is this free ride out of town not conditional (that would be heresy) its’ also irrevocable; therefore not only is it impossible to look back, but if you do look back, it’s OK!”?